After the closure of Campus Corner’s Diamond Dawgs, Maverick’s takes its place as Norman’s newest dive bar.
The bar is the latest addition to Campus Corner, aiming to fill a hole that owner Travis Case said doesn’t exist in the area.
“There’s other bars, bigger bars that have DJs and other stuff, but we are really focusing this to be a hole-in-the-wall or dive bar, some might call it,” Case said. “We can only have about 75 people in here, but we’re excited to have an intimate atmosphere and create an awesome time and place for people to come have super loud music or people. It’s just gonna be a really chill, fun bar.”
The new bar coming to Campus Corner.
Case, who also owns Heist Nightclub and Sideline Bar & Grill, purchased Diamond Dawgs in February 2022 and has operated it since, before closing the classic specialty hot dog restaurant at the end of the year. Case said the closing had to do with increased food costs for the restaurant.
“It’s no joke that the cost of food has gone up drastically, specifically on hot dogs, and our margins just weren’t the same,” Case said. “We didn’t feel it would be adequate to charge $10 for a specialty hot dog. It was a bit of a dying opportunity for us.”
Maverick’s bar takes inspiration for its design from the films “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” and while the bar doesn’t use any direct images or likeness from the movies, fans who visit will notice many references and similarities in the decor and menu items.
Case said that the reasoning behind the bar's theme is that it broadly appeals to a wide variety of people across generations, and he wants customers to feel a connection to what’s inside the building.
“You’ve got people who’ve been fans of ‘Top Gun’ and Tom Cruise, F-18s and F-14s since the 80s,” Case said. “Now you have this new-age movie that released, where kids born in the 2000s are fans as well, so whether you’re old or young, this is gonna fit your demographic and you’re gonna have a lot of connections to what’s inside the bar.”
The inside of the bar is designed to feel like the movies, featuring a piano on stage, custom murals on the walls and specialty drinks named after prominent figures in the movies. The murals are made to portray significant parts of the movie and the inside of the bar is meant to resemble an airplane hangar.
While the new bar is under the same ownership of Diamond Dawgs, they will not be serving the same food as they did before. The bar’s food selections are mainly focused on appetizers and shareables, like fries, chips and salsa and cheddar cheese curds.
Featured liquor at Maverick's.
The bar will have a special offer every week from Thursday to Saturday from 9-10 p.m. called “The Danger Zone,” featuring $2 drinks for the hour.
Maverick’s touches down at Campus Corner on Jan. 27. The bar is open every week, Thursday to Saturday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. More information can be found on their Instagram page.
